Ancestors of modern humans had sex with at least FIVE different archaic human species as they headed out of Africa

Australian researchers have revealed that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with five different archaic human groups, two of which were known while the others remain unknown



Each of us carry within ourselves the genetic traces of these past mixing events,' said first author Dr Joăo Teixeira, Australian Research Council Research Associate, ACAD, at the University of Adelaide.

'These archaic groups were widespread and genetically diverse, and they survive in each of us. Their story is an integral part of how we came to be.

'For example, all present-day populations show about two per cent of Neanderthal ancestry which means that Neanderthal mixing with the ancestors of modern humans occurred soon after they left Africa, probably around 50,000 to 55,000 years ago somewhere in the Middle East.'

Ancestors of Australo-Papuan people today mated with the species in modern-day Sunda and a distinct crossover happened in the Philippines.

In East Asia, a subsequent introgression with a Denisovan group closely related to the Altai specimen also appears to have taken place near the Denisova cave.

Researchers are also fairly certain humans interbred with another unidentified hominid, dubbed 'Extinct Hominin 2', around the island of Flores.

This species is different to any known human ancestor group, including those from Flores, known for their diminutive stature, known as Homo floresiensis.

Island Southeast Asia was already a crowded place when what we call modern humans first reached the region just before 50,000 years ago,' said Dr Teixeira.

'At least three other archaic human groups appear to have occupied the area, and the ancestors of modern humans mixed with them before the archaic humans became extinct.'

He said that groups in Asia were likely living in relative isolation from each other for hundreds of thousands of years before the ancestors of modern humans arrived.

'The timing also makes it look like the arrival of modern humans was followed quickly by the demise of the archaic human groups in each area.'

The research was published in PNAS.

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